Holiday Dress
by RockyRoadSmith
Summary: With Christmas a day away, the rebels find themselves preparing a feast for the holiday. When Colt convinces Holly to dress up for the occasion to impress a certain boy, though, things get rocky when Genki is the only one not to compliment her. Complete.
1. Chapter 1: Christmas Plans

I've been thinking this little story over for awhile now and I decided to go through with it. How can I not? It's my first Christmas as an official fanfiction writer! ^_^ It's so exciting… Anyways, I hope you enjoy this random story and that you're not too ticked at me for throwing this out there and not updating Delusions of the Heart. XD Also, this has nothing to do with DotH, so don't get confused by that. Although since DotH is suppose to be like season 4, I guess this is sorta intertwined with it. Gah, that's too confusing! XD Enjoy! :3

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Note: This takes place in season 3 between when Mocchi wins the last tournament to be able to enter the Legend Cup and from when he battles Poritoka.

**Holiday Dress**

**Chapter 1: Christmas Plans**

The cold streets of a small village were filled with the hustle and bustle of busy people as they passed one another without a single glance. Small flakes of snow fell softly into the ground below as a cool breeze helped to scatter the cold mass throughout the area. The town on the outskirts of the Legend Cup coliseum was filled with life as hundreds of people gathered to watch the famous tournament and to see which monsters would come out victorious that year. The weather was unpredictable, however, and one day it could be sunny while the next day it could be raining. Because of the oncoming barrage of snow, the tournament would be put on hold for at least a week so the weather could clear up and so the arena could be cleaned.

"Man… I'm so bored…"

Genki sighed as he looked out the window of the local inn to see the snow falling lightly and gracefully like leaves in an autumn wind. Although he enjoyed the snowy weather, he wished it hadn't interfered with the Legend Cup tournament. The young boy had been preparing hard to face up against the famous Poritoka and Most, but now their match would have to wait another week or so. This didn't put the boy into good spirits and it made him feel a little down. All that preparing with Mocchi would have to wait. Genki snapped out of his thoughts when a slender hand was placed gently on his shoulder before he glanced up to see the wielder of the Magic Stone looking down at him with concern.

"Oh! Heya, Holly! What's going on?" Genki asked with a smile as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Genki… You've been so down lately. It's because of the tournament being rescheduled, isn't it?" Holly asked with a concerned frown as she took a seat next to the boy. From the look on Genki's face, the young girl knew she had hit the nail on the head and she couldn't help but smile softly. "Don't let it get you down, Genki. Think of it as a good time for Mocchi to train a little more and for you to also have a little relaxation time. Winning all those tournaments took a lot out of you two and you deserve a break."

"I guess that's a good point." Genki agreed with one of his trademark smiles. "Thanks for that, Holly."

Holly couldn't help but blush under the boy's gaze as she nodded her head numbly and averted her attention to their monster companions. Like Genki, the group couldn't help but feel trapped as they could only sit around the inn and stare at the fire crackling in the fireplace. Mocchi slept soundly as he leaned up against Suezo while Hare whistled quietly to himself and Tiger growled irritably at the annoying noise the rabbit monster was creating. Luckily for Golem, the village was use to competitors of all sizes coming to stay at the inn because of the Legend Cup, so even the rock giant had a place near the warm fire as he watched over his comrades with a look of sincerity.

"Golem is glad… to be out… of the cold…" Golem stated with a relaxed smile as he glanced over to the two humans of the group. "The snow… is wet and… is uncomfortable…"

"Yeah, I hear you there. I only have short sleeves and shorts on, so I'm okay with staying in the inn." Genki smiled as he subconsciously adjusted his orange hat to be tilted at just the right angle. "Maybe the snow will clear up soon. It would be awful if the Legend Cup was set back even more…"

Before another word could be spoken between the group members, the doors of the inn flew open dramatically as a lone figure in a dark cloak stepped in before closing the doors to keep the cold air and snow out. The person shook slightly from the chill of the air before going to the receptionist to book a room. The rebels couldn't help but watch with interest as they noticed the traveler's bag moving slightly before the person took the keys to a room and began to walk over to the rebels. As Genki went to ask the person what they needed, though, the stranger suddenly flung themselves onto Holly before squeezing the shocked girl in a tight hug.

"JUST WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?" Suezo shouted in anger, causing Mocchi to groggily wake up and frown from the bad wake up call. The eyeball monster didn't even notice the young monster, though, as his protective instinct flared and his temper sparked. "GET OFF OF HER, NOW!"

"Ooooohhh! You guys! It's so good to see you!" A feminine voice squealed from under the cloak while the rebels stared at her with absolute confusion and puzzlement.

"Uhh… please… you're… choking… me…" Holly wheezed as she felt herself getting light headed from the lack of air in her lungs. The traveler let out a small 'eep' as she let the wielder of the Magic Stone go before scratching the back of her head sheepishly while Holly gasped in relief at getting some air in her lungs.

"Sorry about that, Miss Holly! I just got so excited to see you!" The girl piped up as she pulled off the cloak covering her face to reveal a familiar face. The girl had short brown hair and brown hair to match while she wore a red outfit similar to Holly's. Gloves adorned both of her hands while her eyes shone with an essence of innocence. Each of the rebels blinked in confusion as they stared at the girl in front of them, but Holly was the first one to smile at recognizing her.

"Oh! Coltia! It's been over a year since we last saw you at the Pendant Ruins! How have your travels been?" Holly asked with an inviting smile while the other rebels still didn't have the foggiest idea about who the girl was.

"Things have been great! I found out a lot more about the first battle with Moo and the Phoenix! It's been really interesting. My Iron Bird isn't that suited for traveling in snow, though, so I landed here to wait for the storm to pass. Fancy meeting you guys here, huh?" Colt smiled as she unzipped her bag to allow her own monster companion some fresh air. Joy, a toucan looking monster, flew from the bag with relief at being free before landing gracefully on Colt's shoulder. "Oh, and just call me Colt, 'kay? So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Mocchi is going to enter the Legend Cup, but the tournament is put on hold until the weather clears up." Holly replied with a nod to the younger monster before turning her attention back to the girl in front of her. "He'll be up against both Poritoka and Most, but I know he'll do great."

"OH YEAH! You're the girl from the ruins that was trapped under those rocks and admitted to never having a boyfriend! Now I remember you!" Hare laughed and crossed his arms over his chest as he blurted out his recollection of the young girl.

"Hey! Would you not mention that again?" Colt flushed red form embarrassment while Joy cooed softly on her shoulder. Her mood changed swiftly, though, as she turned her attention back to Holly before grinning widely and letting out an excited squeal. "Looks like you guys are here for the holidays, then! This is so exciting! We'll get to spend it together!"

"Holidays?" Genki asked with a confused glance to Suezo.

"I forgot all about it with our journey and all… Christmas is coming up soon! How long until then?" Suezo asked with a slightly urgent look as he glanced over at Colt. "Is it next week?"

"Next week? Hahaha! Good one! Today is Christmas Eve!" Colt squealed with excitement as she threw her hands joyously in the air with a small 'whoop'. All at once the rebels' eyes widened in shock at the announcement before each of them leaned back and sighed softly. None of them had gifts, a tree, decorations, or anything to use for a classic Christmas.

"I didn't know this world celebrated Christmas." Genki said with a look of puzzlement.

"Pfft! Of course we do! It's one of the biggest celebrations of the year! People travel from all parts of the world to meet up with their families and to enjoy their company. Ever since our village was destroyed, though, Holly and I haven't celebrated it." The eyeball replied with a tone of slight hurt from the memory. "It doesn't matter, though. We don't have time to fart around here any longer to celebrate. The Legend Cup is coming up and everything we've worked for is riding on it!"

"And what do you expect to do? The Legend Cup is put on hold and a nice snow storm is on the way. Which ever way you look at it, you're stuck here with the rest of us so try and make the best of it." Colt stated with a wryly grin while Joy chirped in agreement. "There's no point crying over it and what not. Just relax and take it easy."

"Squawk! Stuck here! Stuck here!" Joy cooed as she ruffled her feathers and stretched out her long wings with relief from the rough trip.

"Hahaha! We should make the best of this then! We've never celebrated Christmas together before and this will be a great chance for a little fun! Come on, guys! Let's put together a nice holiday meal!" Genki announced epically while Mocchi leapt to his feet and giggled with agreement. "We can't do anything else at this point, so why not enjoy ourselves?"

"And just how are we supposed to do _that_? We don't have much for money and the shops will be closing up soon for the holidays." Tiger stated gruffly as he glanced over at the group from his spot near the fireplace. "We're not miracle workers, you know."

"You're such a downer, Tiger! If we set out now to buy things, we'll have plenty of time. Besides, Mocchi's won us quite a bit of gold from his tournaments. We have plenty of money to spend a little on an extra special meal and a few decorations." Hare retorted with a nod of his head. "If we split up, we can get everything we need extra fast, too."

"Sounds like a good plan, Hare. Let's do this!" Genki grinned as he tore through his book bag before taking out a pencil and a notebook. "Let's split up what we need so we don't all buy the same things. Golem, could you get us a Christmas tree? Christmas isn't the same without one."

"Golem will… get the best… tree…" The rock giant replied with a smile.

"Great! Suezo and Tiger, could you two get the meat? Anything we can roast will work."

"Not a problem." Suezo grinned while Tiger merely shrugged lightly.

"Okay then… How about me, Mocchi, and Hare go out to get a variety of vegetables for the meal? With the three of us, we'll get a big selection!" The young boy said with a grin as Mocchi nodded in agreement and Hare gave the boy a 'thumbs up'.

"That leaves Holly and, if she wants to join us, Colt to get the decorations." Genki ended with a small smile of triumph as he finished writing down the Christmas list.

"Yeah! I wanna help out, too! It looks like it's you and me, Miss Holly!" Colt grinned happily while Holly couldn't help but sweat slightly at the young girl next to her. Part of her knew deep down that she would be paired off with Colt from the very start. Joy cooed happily from the young girl's shoulder before she flew onto Holly's shoulder and cawed loudly into her ear. Although the bird was merely greeting the wielder of the Magic Stone, Holly couldn't help but find Joy to be rather obnoxious and down right annoying. She really hoped the bird would remain at the inn while they went out to do their shopping.

"I'll cook the meal for everyone, too." Holly added with a smile while the other rebels mentally cheered to themselves. No one could cook better than the wielder of the Magic Stone and a huge meal like this would be absolutely heavenly.

"Because we don't want to go overboard, let's not buy gifts and just consider the whole meal to be our present. Sound alright to everyone?" Hare asked everyone, and he smiled knowingly as the group nodded their heads in agreement at his suggestion. Buying gifts wouldn't be practical not only because of their watchful eye of their funds, but also because it would be difficult to travel with a huge hoard of new items.

Holly smiled happily as she looked around at her friends talking among one another with excitement over the upcoming holiday feast. It had been a long journey to get to where they were now and she couldn't thank them enough for helping her to find a way to get her father freed from the Mystery Disk. For this group, what better way to show them how much she appreciated their dedication than to cook them up a well deserved meal? The brunette giggled to herself as she watched Hare and Tiger bicker over who would return first with their shopping done, but suddenly her eyes fell on Genki and she found herself look away sheepishly with a blush on her face. Old feelings had surfaced up once again after their long journey together, but this time around it was getting harder to hide it. The young boy had grown up over their year of being apart and he had become even more charming in Holly's eyes. She would never tell him that, of course.

"Alright, guys! Let's go shopping!"

* * *

Okay! This will be a short story with short chapters, so don't expect 8,000 word chapters like in DotH. XD You may be thinking that they don't celebrate Christmas in the Monster Rancher world. Actually, they do! In my Monster Rancher encyclopedia, a whole page from Monster Rancher 2 is just dedicated to Christmas. 3 pictures are of a purebred Mew in a cute Santa outfit. 2 pictures are of a Suezo; one with a Christmas cake on his tongue and another of him with a Santa hat on. Anther picture is of a Mocchi with a Santa hat on while standing on a Mystery Disk shaped cake with a piece of holly on it. The last picture is big and is of Colt in a cute holiday outfit pulling a huge sack behind her while a Gaboo is helping carry it, Suezo is hanging from the top of it with a Santa hat on, a Mocchi is walking next to her in a Christmas outfit as well, and a Ducken looks like his body is a huge snowball. Another Christmas related picture is a small one from Monster Rancher Advanced 2. It's of Holly and she's in an adorable Christmas outfit and she looks surprised as she's holding a cake that has a bunch of chibi monsters playing on it. The last one I was able to find online and it's a holiday background featuring an Atlan, Mocchi, Suezo, Durahan, Mogi, Xan, and Mew. I saved it and here it is for you to enjoy! It's actually my wallpaper for the holiday season, as well. Just take out the spaces: http:/ /i78. photo bucket. com/ albums/ j104/ rockyroadsmith/ Random%20Pictures/ MFWallpaper3. jpg

Thanks for reading this and I hope you stay tuned for more! I hope I finish this before Christmas…

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3


	2. Chapter 2: Determined Shoppers

I'm so determined to get this done by Christmas. I've always wanted to do a story for a holiday, but I always get too busy. I will succeed this time! ^_^ I'm still taking finals, so I don't know when I'll update this again. Hopefully I'll get it done soon, though! This chapter is odd because it doesn't really fit into the plot itself. It's hard to explain, but the plot will get set into action next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Note: This takes place in season 3 between when Mocchi wins the last tournament to be able to enter the Legend Cup and from when he battles Poritoka.

**Holiday Dress**

**Chapter 2: Determined Shoppers**

"If I get one more snowflake in my eye, I swear I'm going to freak out!"

The streets in the village were slowly beginning to empty out of people as the falling snow began to fall a little harder and the townsfolk wanted nothing more than to go home to their families on Christmas Eve. For some people, however, that wasn't an option and they had things the needed to do. Suezo sighed as he attempted to use his tongue to shield his eye from the snow flurry, but to no avail. It was times this that he couldn't help but wonder why the Suezo species was created without arms. Tiger marched along the eyeball monster's side as he, too, was beginning to lose his patients with the falling snow. For most of his life he grew up in arctic regions with his little brother, but his journey look him far away from that climate so his tolerance was no longer there.

"Try not to let it get to you. All we need to do is get some meat and go back to the inn. I can smell the butcher shop already, so we shouldn't have any problems." Tiger stated to his comrade before the duo picked up the pace a little. Within minutes, the two monsters found themselves outside the butcher shop's door and the duo couldn't help but mentally cheer for it. The sooner they got the meat, the sooner they could go back to the comfort of the warm inn.

"Excuse me! Do you have any roasts for sale?" Suezo asked as the duo entered the shop.

"Sure thing. Here ya go." The butcher stated as he placed a slab of meat onto a scale before writing down the weight. Suezo watched with interest before digging though his knapsack to get the small pouch of gold coins they had been given to buy the meat, but a growl from Tiger caused the eyeball monster to stop in his tracks.

"What's with you?" Suezo asked with a frown as he cautiously removed the coin pouch.

"We're not buying that meat." Tiger stated gruffly, but loud enough for the butcher to hear him.

"Huh? Why not?" The eyeball monster asked with a frown.

"Yeah? Why not? Ya sayin' ya don't like my work here?" The butcher asked with an angered glance at the wolf monster.

"From the smell alone I can tell that roast has been sitting out for at least a day, if not more. You either get us a better roast or we'll take our business elsewhere." Tiger growled angrily while Suezo nodded in agreement. Although he didn't know if Tiger was right or not, he wasn't the kind of guy to disagree with a monster who could electrocute him on the spot.

"Then get outta my shop! Good luck findin' another shop open on Christmas Eve!" The butcher spat as he put away the meat and closed up his counter spot. With a scowl, Suezo stuck his tongue out at where the butcher had been before hopping out of the store his head hung low.

"Now what, Tiger? I don't think any other butcher shops are open right now." Suezo sighed sadly as he went to glance at his companion, but it was then that he noticed Tiger was no where in sight. With a nervous scan around the area, Suezo felt himself sweat slightly at the thought of being separated. "Tiger…?"

A sudden bang caused the eyeball monster to leap up in shock before he turned to see Tiger come bolting from the butcher shop's window with a large roast clenched between his powerful jaws as the wolf monster ran past him. Suezo stood gawking in shock before the angry shouts of the butcher pierced into his head, causing Suezo to run for it as an angry man with a butcher's knife clenched in his hands took off after the eyeball monster. Suezo panted as he hopped and dodged through the village streets before a claw grabbed him around his tail and pulled him into one of the smaller alleyways. The eyeball monster nervously looked up before sighing in relief to see Tiger standing above him with a victorious look on his face.

"Just what the heck was that all about? You could have gotten us arrested or killed!" Suezo glowered while he let out the breath of air he had been holding in while running. "You stole that roast! I thought Christmas was supposed to be about doing good things; not breaking the law! Holly's going to be so upset when she finds out her roast is stolen property!"

"Listen here, eyeball. That butcher was trying to sell us old meat, so I got us a fresh roast. He brought this upon himself. Besides, Holly doesn't _need _to know, now does she?" Tiger replied with a stern look as he placed the roast into Suezo's knapsack while Suezo made a mental note to clean it later.

"She's gonna know since we still have that pouch of money!"

"Just keep it for yourself and I'll make sure the coast is clear." Tiger stated before he trotted out of the alleyway to make sure he butcher was no longer in sight. With a nod from the wolf monster, Suezo knew it was safe to go out into the open once again before the duo began to head back to the inn. Suezo found himself glancing around the town before his eye suddenly lit up and he bounded away from his companion, though Tiger didn't notice as he continued to walk until he realized his companion's absence. With care, Suezo gently placed the small sack of gold into a charity box before hopping along the road quickly to catch up with Tiger, who smiled to himself at seeing his comrade's action. He wouldn't bring it up, though, for it was something better left unsaid as the duo made walked down the snowy street in silence.

* * *

Mocchi giggled and laughed as he ran through the streets while sticking his tongue out to collect snowflakes. The young monster's eyes shone with innocence and happiness as he ran back to his friend's side before climbing onto the boy's back like a monkey. Ever since the trio of rebels had begun their search for suitable vegetables, Mocchi had been as energetic as ever. His curiosity and excitement for the upcoming holiday was both entertaining and heartwarming to watch.

"Gees, Mocchi! You need to calm yourself down a little!" Hare stated with a wryly smile as he watched the young monster puff his chubby cheeks out from his statement. "I'm just saying! The last thing we need is for you to run around breaking things. Just be careful, alright?"

"Ah, Mocchi's being careful. He's just excited about tomorrow!" Genki smiled as he pulled the cloak Lily and Mathew had given him a little closer to his body for warmth. At first he wasn't going to wear the article of clothing, but Holly had insisted he would get sick if he didn't and the last thing he wanted was for her to worry over him.

"Hare!"

The trio stopped in their tracks as a female voice shouted the rabbit monster's name within the crowd of people and monsters. Each of the rebels looked at one another with confusion and puzzlement, but Hare's eyes grew wide as he saw two very familiar faces emerge from the crowd. Hare could only gape in shock before he caught his breath and cleared his throat nervously.

"Fairy Hare…? Wild Hare…?"

The two Hare hybrids stood before the group with warm smiles on their faces before Fairy Hare pulled Hare into a tight embrace. With a small gulp, Hare returned her hug before she slowly pulled away and allowed Wild Hare to grab onto Hare's hand before shaking it with a grin. Hare felt his entire body was numb as he awkwardly shook his old comrade's hand before glancing at the duo in front of him. By how close they were standing to one another and how they gave each other timid glances, he could tell the two were some kind of an item by now.

"What are you two doing here?" Genki asked at seeing Hare still too shocked to speak.

"We came here to watch the Legend Cup, but we have to stay here longer since it's been postponed. Are you here for the same reason?" Fairy Hare asked with a gentle smile to the young boy.

"Actually, Mocchi here is entering the tournament and he's gonna win!" Genki stated with triumph while Mocchi chirped in agreement.

"Really? After seeing you guys fight a few weeks ago, I know you have what it takes to win the Legend Cup." Wild Hare grinned as he gave the group an encouraging 'thumbs up'. "It'll be a piece of cake for you guys. Just be careful. I don't know anything about Most, but I have heard that Poritoka has a couple of intense attacks that have made him a legend."

"Intense attacks, huh? Maybe we should fight him first and leave Most for last." The young boy stated to himself before he redirected his attention at Hare. The rabbit monster looked a little down hearted as he kept his eyes glued to the ground. With a determined frown, the young boy suddenly slapped Hare on the back before waving to the group of Hare monsters. "We got some vegetable shopping to do, so we'll see you later!"

"It was nice seeing you guys." Hare said in a low tone as he rubbed his back painfully from where Genki had smacked him a little too hard.

"Don't worry, Hare! Mocchi and I have the shopping covered so you stay here and catch up with your friends. See ya soon!" Genki called as he bolted out of sight along with Mocchi; leaving a stunned Hare to stand awkwardly with his old comrades. The trio of Hare monsters stood in silence as they glanced at one another, though none of them knew what to say. Finally, Fairy Hare could no longer take the awkward silence as she took in a breath of cold air before turning her attention to Hare.

"So, Hare… How have you been? Has your journey been successful?" The female Hare hybrid asked with a gentle smile. She could feel the tension that was radiating within the group, but she had a feeling it would be that way from the start.

"It's… it's been alright. The last thing we need to do is win this tournament before we can rescue Holly's father. How has your orphanage been? Has the food supply been better?" Hare asked as he played nervously with the edge of his bandana.

"The orphanage has been much better with Wild Hare helping out. We have plenty of food and the children are much happier now. The children insisted on coming here for the tournament so they're here as well." Fairy Hare replied happily, but suddenly the chill of the wind caused her to shiver slightly before turning to Wild Hare. "We should get going since we need get back to the children."

"I guess you're right. Stop by the orphanage when you get the chance, Hare! We'd love to have you there." Wild Hare grinned as he playfully nudged Hare's arm before turning back to his partner.

"Yes, please stop by sometime." Fairy Hare smiled gently. "It was nice seeing you, Hare."

"Yeah… it was nice seeing you, too."

Hare watched as Fairy Hare and Wild Hare waved happily to him before turning around and walking down the snowy streets. His eyes glanced to see the two rabbit monster hold each other's hand and suddenly he felt himself want to shout everything. He wanted so badly to shout how he felt about them being together, how he felt about Wild Hare's old treachery, and how he felt about Fairy Hare. In the end, though, Hare felt himself softy laugh to himself at the irony of how things had turned out before walking away to find Genki and Mocchi. Maybe someday he would let them know the feelings he had bottled up deep within himself, but Christmas wasn't the time for it.

'_Christmas is about making people happy and being with people you care about. So, Merry Christmas, Fairy Hare and Wild Hare. Make each other happy and I'll be happy for the two of you.'_ Hare thought to himself with a gentle smile on his face before he returned to Genki's side to pick out vegetables, even if now his heart wasn't into it.

* * *

Golem frowned as he looked at yet another pine tree that wasn't up to his standards. He wasn't use to the whole Christmas tradition, but part of him disliked the tree part of it. The rock giant couldn't help but feel bad for the trees, for they would be decorated for a short time before being discarded once the season was over. Killing a tree wasn't well looked upon by Golem, and he quickly found himself in a bind. The rebels were counting on him to get a holiday tree, but he couldn't find it in his heart to destroy a tree just so it could be a decoration.

"Golem needs to… find a way… to not kill… these trees…" Golem stated to himself as he looked around the vast amount of pine trees that were destined to be cut down for holiday purposes. "What is the… purpose… of cutting down… these trees…?"

A small snap of a branch from behind him caused Golem to whip around just incase it was a Baddie, but he was met, instead, with a young woman standing in shock as Golem towered over her. She had long black hair and was wearing traditional bakers' garments consisting of a dirtied apron and a light blue dress underneath. Her face was blotched with patches of stray flour while some of the snowflakes wiped away some of the mess.

"I'm sorry! You were so still I didn't see you there! I didn't mean to alarm you!" The woman apologized as she bowed slowly before beginning to leave.

"Wait… please, can I ask… you something…?" Golem asked quietly as the woman spun around to face him as she listened to his gentle words.

"Of course you can."

"Why do people… cut down trees… for Christmas?"

The woman smiled gently at the rock giant's question as she giggled softly as and let out a calming sigh. "It's a symbolic thing. For a lot of people the Christmas tree represents the ever burning fire of life. The green color of the tree represents ongoing life and nature while the other tradition color of Christmas, which is red, represents the fire of spirits."

"Why do people… decorate them…?"

"A lot is just for show, but the original round ornaments represented planets and how life is so full of mysteries and wonders. A Christmas tree has so many different meanings for each individual person, so it's up to you to decide what it means to you."

"What if… someone does not… want to… cut down… a tree…? Can they still… celebrate Christmas?" Golem asked with a frown.

"Christmas isn't about the tree, presents, or the food. It's about being in the company of those who you care about and who care about you. You don't need to get a tree to celebrate the holiday." The woman smiled gently.

"What if my… friends are counting… on me to get… a tree?"

"Look at this." The woman stated with a wave of her hand as she picked something off one of the tree before placing it into Golem's large hand. In his palm was a small pinecone that sparkled slightly from the light reflecting off the dried sap that was caked into some of its shell.

"A pinecone…?"

"Inside of that are dozens of seeds just waiting to become trees in the future. You have the choice if you want to have a tree or not, but just remember that a Christmas tree is what you make of it. There will be more trees to take its place if you decide to have a tree, but I'm sure your friends won't be upset of you don't get one." The woman smiled warmly before beginning to walk through the snow, but not before turning around one last time and calling out: "Happy holidays!"

"Thank you… you too…!" Golem called back with a smile as he watched her disappear from sight. With a low grunt, the rock giant's hand cut through the bottom of the tree's trunk before it came crashing down onto the snow covered ground below. Golem grimaced slightly at the sight, but a sad smile replaced it as he sprinkled the seeds from the pinecone where the tree once stood before marching back to the inn with the tree in tow. Golem smiled to himself as he glanced back at the tree with pride, for he wanted to learn what his Christmas tree would mean to him in the years to come.

* * *

Okay, I know this had nothing to do with the plot, but I wanted the other rebels to have some show time, too. This chapter was unusual because it's more like a collection of super short one-shots. Genki wasn't in this one much because he'll be in it more so I wanted to focus that part on Hare. Holly and Colt's part will be the next chapter. XD I wish they had made a holiday Monster Rancher episode. I know it would have been awesome. I added in Fairy Hare and Wild Hare in for a brief time due to Dark Fox Tailz's request, but other then that I'm not taking requests at the moment. Sorry! Anyways, the real plot will come into play next chapter, so stay tuned!

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3


	3. Chapter 3: New Attire

I'm trucking along fast on this, huh? I'm so proud of myself! XD I can't believe how close Christmas is. I think it's coming so fast! It feels like it comes fast ever since I've been living at a college dorm and not at home. It's probably because we don't have a Christmas tree at my dorm that taunts me with candy canes and decorations. XD Onto the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Note: This takes place in season 3 between when Mocchi wins the last tournament to be able to enter the Legend Cup and from when he battles Poritoka.

**Holiday Dress**

**Chapter 3: New Attire**

The cold wind whipped against Holly's legs and blew her cloak lightly as her and Colt walked through the town with the task of buying decorations. Although it had seemed like an easy and extremely simple task, having Colt along with her was making it far harder than it had to be. The wielder of the Magic Stone had been graced with good luck when Colt decided to leave Joy behind at the inn, but what she didn't realize was that Colt wasn't a shopper like she was. Holly would casually browse the shops until something caught her eye and she would pick it up before simply buying it. Colt, on the other hand, was a diehard shopaholic who had to inspect every single item that was for sale. The extra wasted time was putting a slight damper on Holly's mood and her legs were killing her from walking around for so long.

"Colt… I think we have enough decorations now so we should probably head back to the inn." Holly suggested for the eleventh time within the past couple of hours. Colt, however, either didn't hear her or just ignored her as she continued to browse through a rack of clothing. Out of no where, though, Colt seemed to remember something important as she cleared her throat casually while Holly watched her with interest and anticipation.

"Miss Holly, I gotta bring something up with you." Colt suddenly piped up as she put another sweater back on the rack before giving the taller girl a quick glance.

"Yes? What is it?" Holly replied with a hopeful tone at thinking maybe they would be finally going back to the inn.

"Miss Holly, you've fallen so hard! I knew from the start, but I never thought it would get like this!" The pilot stated with a shake of her head and a small shrug of sympathy. "I guess I thought things would have progressed by now. It must be so hard for you. Don't worry; I'm here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on. Girls have to stick together, right?"

"…huh? Colt, what are you talking about?" Holly asked with confusion as her face shone with puzzlement. She still wasn't familiar on what exactly Colt's personality was since they hadn't known her for long, but random was definitely on the list.

"I'm talking about you and Genki, of course!"

"_HUH?_"

"Don't play games with me! My girl intuition has always been pretty accurate when it comes to emotions and you've been giving off every sign there is when it comes to crushes! I knew since we met at the ruins about you're feelings for Genki, but I thought you'd be a couple by now! You gotta make your move and make him your man, Miss Holly!" Colt exclaimed dramatically as passing by people gave her strange glances and Holly's shoulders slumped from embarrassment while her face flushed red.

"Coltia, please! We're in public!" Holly whispered hoarsely as she did her best to cover her face with her cloak from both embarrassment and the cold. Either way, though, it didn't stop the cold wind from hitting her face or the strange looks she got from other people. "It's not like that, anyways…"

"You can't hide from this one, Miss Holly! You've got romantic feelings for Genki and I think just about everyone knows it! Besides, I bet he's just as nervous as you and doesn't want to say anything either. He's really into you, though."

"Do… do you really think so…?"

"Of course! I've seen the way he glances at you and it's adorable! He's_ totally_ got feelings for you that go beyond just friendship, Miss Holly. You two just need a nudge in the right direction. Don't worry, I'm gonna help you out with this! I'm an expert when it comes to relationships!"

"Colt, you really don't have to do this…" Holly trailed off as she tried to avert away from the current conversation topic, but wit no such luck. _'Besides, isn't she the one that admitted to never having a boyfriend…? This is a bad idea. I just know this is going to turn out badly. Why did Colt have to be the one to want to help me out?'_

"Nonsense! Come with me!" Colt squealed happily as she grabbed Holly's hand before dragging her into the nearest clothing shop without waiting for the older girl's response to all of this. The shop was full of clothing for all different seasons and weather, but Colt marched passed everything before stopping in front of a large rack of dresses. Holly stood panting slightly from trying to keep up with the energetic girl before her eyes caught on to Colt's taste in outfits and she immediately blushed.

"Colt, it's freezing outside! I can't wear a dress!" Holly exclaimed as she nervously played with the end of her cloak. The black cloak had come in handy over their journey, but it definitely wasn't fashionable and Colt couldn't help but shake her head at it. "Besides, I don't like dressing up fancy and I don't have extra money to go around buying things like this…"

"Well you can't be wearing that around, though! It's not nice looking at all!"

"But… it's comfortable and keeps me warm…"

"It's not going to attract Genki's attention, though. Don't you _want_ him to notice you?"

"…yes…"

"Then trust me on this!"

Holly sighed as her protests fell on deaf ears while Colt giddily looked through the dress rack before pulling out a strapless black dress with a high cut going up the side. The dress would only go down to Colt's knees, so for Holly it would be far higher up. The top of the dress was extremely low cut in the front and would show far more skin than Holly would allow it. Colt grinned and handed the dress to the older girl to try on, but Holly immediately gaped at the article of clothing before glancing at Colt with an appalled look.

"Coltia! That dress would make me look like a harlot!" The wielder of the Magic Stone exclaimed with a look of horror and embarrassment. "I can't wear something this!"

"Aw, come on! It would look great on you!"

"If I intended to stand at a street corner to earn some extra money then it would, but otherwise I'll have to pass." Holly scowled as she hung the dress back on the rack with a flustered look and a low sigh. "We should go back to the inn, Colt. I bet everyone's waiting for us…"

"Bah, they can wait! Anyways, we're not leaving here until we pick you out a dress that will knock Genki off his feet!" Colt grinned with excitement at the thought of playing match maker with the two rebels. Holly, on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled and she was even more down at the fact that it was _Colt_ of all people who knew about her feelings for the boy. For what felt like days, Colt tore through the clothing shop in search of the perfect dress while Holly was left with the job of carrying all the Christmas decorations and clothing the younger girl decided to buy for herself even though she wasn't really suppose to be there to buy herself things.

"It's getting late, Colt. I know Suezo's probably pacing the floor right now and, if we don't get back soon, they'll send Tiger to sniff me out and I'll get a stern lecture from everyone. We should go back." Holly stated again as she placed the mound of Coltia's clothing down to rest her tired arms while she let out a soft yawn. "I wonder what time it is…"

"HEY, LADY! WHAT TIME IS IT?" Colt shouted to the clerk from the other side of the room while Holly face faulted from surprise. The clerk glanced at the two girls with a look of puzzlement before snapping out of it and glancing outside to one of the many sundials outside that the moon was reflecting off of.

"It's almost midnight." The woman replied groggily.

"MIDNIGHT? Oh, we need to go now, Colt! I'm never going to hear the end of this from the others!" Holly exclaimed with anxiety as she picked up Colt's pile of clothing before hurrying to the girl's side. Even with Holly's presence now next to her, though, Colt didn't budge an inch or even glance over at the older girl. "Come on! We need to hurry back!"

"Not so fast, Miss Holly! I've found you the perfect dress!"

"We need to forget about the dress and get back to the inn!"

"I'm not leaving until you take a look at this dress."

"Coltia! I don't have time for this!"

"I'll sit on the ground until you look at this dress if I have to."

Holly could feel the aggravation in her body as her breathing began to get a little quicker and more labored, but her reasonable instinct kicked in as usual and she nodded her head in agreement before putting the decorations and Colt's clothing down. With a squeal of delight, Colt carefully handed Holly the dress she had chosen before reeling back in excitement at her find. The wielder of the Magic Stone was irritated by the whole night's events, but even she couldn't help but marvel at the dress that was in her hands. Before Holly could inspect it further, though, Colt snatched the article of clothing out of her hands before tucking it into her pile of clothing.

"What are you doing?" Holly asked with a frown.

"I know what kind of person you are and if you saw the price, you wouldn't buy it. So let's pay for this stuff and get back to the inn." Coltia replied with a shrug as she went to go to the cashier, but Holly quickly took her hand before she could leave.

"We can't afford that dress, Colt. I appreciate the thought, but it's alright. I don't need that dress. Besides, I don't even know if it would fit me or not…"

"We're getting this dress whether you want to or not! I can't stand around watching you miss the opportunity to get together that that cutie! It's just too cruel! Don't worry about the money! We have a ton extra from the money we got to buy decorations since I made sure to pick out the cheapest stuff possible, so we have enough." Colt stated with triumph while Holly sweated slightly at her comment.

"…you picked out the cheapest ornaments for our special Christmas dinner?"

"Hey, we'll only be using them once anyways, right?"

Holly still couldn't tell whether Colt was the smartest person she had met or if she was just plain crazy, but at that moment it really didn't matter. For once, she was going to take a leap of faith and try for once to take a step forward instead of letting life pass her by. With a side glance to Colt, the wielder of the Magic Stone nodded her head before stepping up to the counter with a rare drop of pride in her eyes.

"May I help you tonight?"

"Yes, please. I'd like to buy this dress here…"

* * *

Hare yawned loudly as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyed tiredly. The group of rebels had been waiting for the two girls' return for hours now, but still there was so sign of either of them which was causing a mass effect of worry within the group. The groggy Searchers could do nothing but wait since they had already sent Tiger out to look for the duo. Suezo was the most active as he literally paced back and forth in front of the door with worry written all over his face. His eye twitched slightly with fear and anxiety, and the other rebels found that to be a clue to stay quiet. Mocchi slept quietly in Genki's arms while the boy sat near the window in hopes of spotting the two girls. Part of him knew the two girls were safe and that they were over reacting, but with the Baddies still on their tail they couldn't help it.

"Golem thinks… Holly and… Colt… will come back… soon…" The rock giant spoke up as he adjusted the Christmas tree that now stood tall and proud in the middle of the inn. Joy had perched herself at the very top of the tree and had been whistling for hours now. Although cute at first, it was getting old fast. All that was missing on the tree were the ornaments, but they would have to wait for obvious reasons.

"I hope you're right. Holly's not one to be late like this so I bet it has something to do with Colt." Hare replied with a worried glance to Golem. "Ya don't think she's working for the Baddies, do you? I mean, how much do we really know about this girl? She may have been good a year or so ago, but who's to say she didn't side with the Baddies now?"

"I don't think she's like that!" Genki frowned at the accusation of their old friend.

"We've been tricked a lot in the past by people we thought were good and turned out to be Baddies, so we have no proof that she isn't just faking."

"Yeah, but we don't have evidence to say that she's a Baddie, either. I think she's a good person, Hare. She just… uh…"

"…has a few screws loose?"

"Yeah, that's it."

The sound of squeaking hinges caused the rebels to stop their banter and to turn their attention to the inn entrance doors. With a low grunt, Tiger entered the inn with snow covering his once dry fur coat while a shivering Holly and a grinning Colt followed after. All at one the rebels sighed in relief at seeing their comrade safe and in one piece. Suezo, however, still wasn't pleased with the situation what so ever and he had to say something.

"Holly! We were worried sick about you! Where have you been?" Suezo asked with a scowl as he hopped to his best friend's side before hugging her tightly with his tongue. Although she was extremely cold to the touch, he didn't let his hug weaken a bit.

"I'm sorry, Suezo. We got caught up with some things, but everything's alright." Holly replied with an apologetic sigh as she returned her friend's hug. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"It's alright now. I'm just glad you're safe, is all." The eyeball monster stated with a relieved sigh.

"Here are the decorations and ornaments, so do what you want with them while Holly and I talk for a bit." Colt announced while she placed the bags or decorations in front of the rebels before taking her own bag of clothing and tossing it into Holly's arms. The tired brunette caught the bag in surprise before Colt grabbed her wrist and proceeded to literally drag her up the stairs to one of the in rooms before shutting the door behind her; leaving a group of very confused rebels behind.

"She's an odd one, isn't she?" Hare stated to no one in particular as he shrugged and began to look through the bags of decorations. "I wonder what they're talking about…"

"Probably plans for the feast tomorrow. I can't wait to try some of that roast." Tiger said with a smile as he thought about the delectable meat he had obtained for the dinner. "It's late, everyone, so let's go off to bed. We don't want to be tired for the feast tomorrow."

"Good idea. We can always decorate tomorrow, anyways." Genki said with a shrug as he gathered a sleeping Mocchi into his arms before heading upstairs along with the other tired rebels. With thoughts if the great feast that was in store for them tomorrow, the rebels each went to sleep with calm minds and hungry stomachs. The two girls, however, stayed up a little longer as they discussed everything from the feast, to the dress, and ultimately to the young boy who had caught the wielder of the Magic Stone's fancy. Whatever would happen tomorrow would either make her day or ruin her holiday.

* * *

You may be confused as to why I added Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 at the same time. This is because, as I said, Chapter 2 didn't advance the plot at all and was more so mini one-shots to show what the other rebels' stories were. So I decided to add these two chapters as a pair so you wouldn't have to wait for the plot to get moving further. I really do love Colt's character, though. She only appears in "The Secret of Holly's Magic Stone", but she's so much fun. When watching that episode you can see how unpredictable she is and how her moods swing so quickly, making her an interesting character to handle. Anyways, thank you again for reading! I think I'm making pretty good time on this, especially since I still have final exams. XD

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3


	4. Chapter 4: Final Arrangements

Okay, I took a couple of days of from this since I needed to recover from my final exams, but I think I'm still making decent time. I think there's still a good chance I'll have this story done by Christmas. ^_^ Thanks everyone for your wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Note: This takes place in season 3 between when Mocchi wins the last tournament to be able to enter the Legend Cup and from when he battles Poritoka.

**Holiday Dress**

**Chapter 4: Final Arrangements**

Holly yawned quietly as she rubbed her tired eyes before taking a small sip of warm tea. The day before had been extremely tiring, but even night was interrupted by Colt's attention, so the wielder of the Magic Stone was running on next to no sleep at all. Although Colt was slightly aggravating, Holly still couldn't help but enjoy her company, but not for nine hours and until four in the morning. With a low sigh, the brunette placed her tea cup down before getting up from the kitchen table and stirring the stew she was making for the other rebels. Even though she had been forced to stay up late with Colt, it didn't mean she would slack off and blow off making breakfast for the others. Although a little dazed from her lack of sleep, Holly quickly turned around at the creaking of someone coming down the stairs that led to the sleeping quarters.

"Oh! Merry Christmas, Hare." Holly greeted with an inviting smile as she ushered to the rabbit monster to take a bowl for soup. "How did you sleep? It was a nice change to sleep in a cozy bed instead of the ground, wasn't it?"

"Merry Christmas to you, as well!" Hare grinned from ear to ear while he didn't need to be told twice to grab a bowl for the scrumptious meal. "I can't agree with you more, Holly. My back was starting to get sore from all the sleeping we've done on the ground. I think I got too used to sleeping at Tama's place so I'm more use to a warm bed now."

Holly smiled sympathetically at her comrade as she watched his smile waver for a brief moment at the mention of the girl who had taken him in at the apple orchard. Between Tama and Fairy Hare, the wielder of the Magic Stone knew Hare had been through quite a few painful departures recently. With care, Holly scooped a large ladle full of soup into the bowl Hare held firmly into his hands before the rabbit monster thanked the girl and sat down at the dining room table to eat the soup while it was still hot. One by one, the other sleepy rebels slowly got up from bed as the smell of the stew lingered throughout the inn as if beckoning the rebels to quickly get up and enjoy the day.

"Good morning and merry Christmas, Holly." Tiger stated with a small smile while Holly placed a bowl of steaming soup down in front of him. With a quiet 'thank you' to the girl, the wolf monster slowly began to lap up the soup while savoring every bite.

"Yeah! Merry Christmas, chi!" Mocchi exclaimed with a giggle before he took a small spoonful of the soup. The young monster couldn't have been more excited for the holiday and his small eyes shone with absolute joy.

"Holly, you're too good to us." Suezo said with a smile as he took a long sip of the stew. As always, Holly's cooking was the best he ever had and spending Christmas with her for the first time in years made it all that much more wonderful.

"Christmas seems like… such a warm… holiday…" Golem stated with a smile as he helped Holly to dish out the remaining few dishes of soup to the group before turning to the wielder of the Magic Stone with a worried glance. "Holly… you should not… have made us… breakfast… since you already… volunteered to… make us dinner… It does not… sound fair… for you."

"It's alright, Golem. I enjoy making meals for you guys and it's the first Christmas that I've celebrated in years. I want it to be special." Holly replied with a warm smile as she handed Genki a bowl of the stew.

"Yeah. Thanks for the meal, Holly." Genki thanked with a grin before he began to shovel the soup into his mouth from hunger and as if he hadn't eaten in a week. Holly could only blush lightly and begin to reply back to the boy before she let out a surprised yelp as she was brought into a tackle hug by Colt, who was wide awake and ready to take on the day.

"Good morning, Miss Holly! Merry Christmas! Isn't this exciting?" Colt squealed happily as she released her hold on the taller girl before grabbing a dish of the soup and beginning to eat it rapidly.

"Colt, you should slow down or you'll choke!" Holly scolded with a frown.

"There's no time! We have to go out early to see if any shops are open!"

"Why? We did all of the shopping yesterday."

"Not quite, Miss Holly! Now hurry up and eat so we can get back here quick!"

Holly sighed softly as she began to eat her soup slowly while the other rebels looked at one another with confusion and concern. Ever since Colt had made her way into the group, Holly seemed to be more distracted and tired. The wielder of the Magic Stone was always in the company of the younger girl, whether she wanted it or not, and others couldn't figure out why Colt had a sudden interest in her. They knew something was out of place, but nothing else seemed to stick out. Before anyone could speak up, though, Colt quickly grabbed Holly's hand before pulling the reluctant girl toward the door and waving to the others.

"Bye, guys! We'll back in time to get that dinner all ready! Just man the fort for us and could you take Joy outside for a bit? She gets kinda crabby and cranky when she's cooped up inside for awhile." Colt said with a shrug while Holly gave the rebels a pleading look, as if mentally asking them to not let the younger girl take her away. Her wish wasn't fulfilled, though, as the door shut quietly behind the two girls; leaving a room full of rebels and a grumpy bird sitting in the Christmas tree. Genki scratched his head lightly as he glanced from the closed door to Joy before clearing his throat and speaking to everyone.

"…so, who's taking Joy out? NOT IT!"

"NOT IT, CHI!"

"HECK NO!"

"NO WAY!"

"NO…"

"…dang it! Not fair!" Suezo scowled as he pouted at being left with the job of attending to Colt's pet. Although it was Christmas, it didn't mean everything was going to be perfect. Even with the lame job of taking care of Joy, though, he knew he'd rather do that than spend the day with Colt. Something about her annoyed him even when she wasn't saying anything.

* * *

Holly sighed as she walked down the nearly empty streets with Colt just about dragging her to where she wanted to be. With it being Christmas, most people were enjoying themselves with their families while sitting close to a warm and inviting fire place while opening presents. Holly, on the other hand, was forced against her will to walk in the damp snow while lugging around whatever items Colt decided to buy for herself. Either way, the first Christmas the wielder of the Magic Stone was celebrating in years wasn't going exactly as she had planned from the beginning. Part of her couldn't help but feel sympathy for Colt, however, and it explained her constant need to be around people and to be the center of attention. From the looks of things, Colt traveled by herself with only the company of a bird who could only repeat what she heard.

'_It's not like when I was beginning my journey and it was just Suezo and I. It did get a little lonely at times, but at least Suezo can interact with me and hold full length conversations. I did travel by myself for a year after Moo's defeat in order to find my friends again, but I had made a lot of other friends on our first journey so when I ran into them they would always take me in and we'd have a good time. Colt's always just by herself with the exception of Joy, but she can't really talk much… I guess that's why Colt's so excited about all of this. Even if she is a little overbearing, I just can't find it in myself to get angry at her since she means well…' _Holly thought to herself with a sympathetic glance at Colt, who was currently looking at a display of small decorative figurines. The younger girl had to inspect every last figurine even though she didn't intend to buy any of them.

"The best part about shopping on Christmas day is that a lot of stuff is on sale now!" Colt grinned happily as she ran back to Holly's side with a childish giggle. "This is gonna be the best holiday ever!"

"Colt… Why are we out here on Christmas, anyways? We did all of the shopping yesterday." The wielder of the Magic Stone asked with a look of puzzlement on her face. "We don't have any extra money to spend, anyways."

"Tee hee! That's where you're wrong, Miss Holly! We not only haven't finished our shopping, but we also have a little extra cash!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I put aside a little extra cash from the decoration shopping to buy one more important thing and we can't go back to the inn until we get it." The pilot stated with a nod of her head before she began to march down the street with a tired Holly in tow.

"What else do we need? We've got the decorations, a tree, vegetables, and a roast. That's all we need for dinner." Holly said with a confused glance at Colt, who had a look of determination on her face.

"Not quite! Don't forget about your new dress."

"Um, about that…"

"Don't tell me you're gonna skip out on wearing it!"

"It's too strange for me, Colt. I don't wear dresses and besides, by the time I'm done cooking dinner Christmas will be nearly over anyways. There's no point in wearing a brand new outfit for just a couple of hours."

"Says you! Now come on! We have one more thing to buy!"

Holly didn't even have a chance to retort back as Colt hooked arms with the taller girl before pulling her into the closest open clothing shop. The wielder of the Magic Stone sighed quietly to herself as she still held onto Colt's hoard of new items while the younger girl bolted down the aisles of the store with excitement and thrill. There was something about helping another girl with their outfit that made Colt even more dedicated to shopping. While the pilot made her way through the shop, Holly sat near the window and looked out onto the streets with a small smile on her face. She could remember vaguely, as a little girl, running through the snowy roads of her hometown with her father in tow laughing merrily at watching his daughter's excitement. Now, though, the memory was far in the past and was set as only a reminder of how things _use _to be. Holly sighed softly as she subconsciously placed her hand over her hip to where the Mystery Disk her father was trapped in rest ominously at her side.

'_Father… I wish you could be here to celebrate Christmas with me just like we use to when life was peaceful…' _Holly thought to herself with a disheartened frown, but the sudden sound of nearing footsteps caused the wielder of the Magic Stone to snap out of her trance.

"Heya! We're in luck! Check these out!" Colt squealed as she placed a pair of new shoes into Holly's hands. While the older girl examined the new accessory with yearning, Colt's grin only grew wider and as she let out a happy giggle. "Aren't they _so_ pretty? They'll match your dress perfectly! Let's go pay for them!"

"They _are_ really nice, but I bet they're expensive…"

"Nah, the price is just fine. Don't worry about it! Now let's go! The more we argue about it the later we'll be to cook dinner."

Holly felt herself begin to argue back, but Colt's words rung with truth and she found herself glance at the pair of shoes in her hand. The thought of dressing up wasn't very appealing to the young girl, but the thought of getting Genki's attention was. With a nod of defeat, Holly handed the shoes back to Colt who, in turn, squealed happily before running to the cashier to pay for the product. There was something about Colt that seemed to make the taller girl cave in just like Genki normally made her. Either way, she couldn't _not_ dress up now. With a wave from Colt who now had a bag containing the shoes in her hand, the two girls left the shop in higher spirits than they had entered with. Holly smiled with bottled up excitement while Colt continued to poke around at every shop they passed. Suddenly, a glimpse of orange caught Holly's eyes and she quickly turned to see a large table selling different vegetables. The wielder of the Magic Stone didn't pay attention to just any vegetable, though, as she instinctively strode over to the section containing a vast amount of carrots.

"Carrots… I know how much Genki loves them, but I didn't see any in the collection of vegetables him, Hare, and Mocchi bought. Maybe they didn't see these. I bet Genki will be _really_ excited if I specially cook him up some of these." Holly thought out loud with a smile on her face as she picked out a few of the best looking of the roots before handing the owner a few gold coins in return. With the carrots in one bag and about seven of Colt's things in the other, Holly quickly ran down the street to catch up to her friend who had only made it a couple shops down the street. It was a rare moment where Holly was relieved the girl was an extremely slow shopper so she was easy to catch up to.

* * *

"…I can't believe that bird crapped in the tree."

"Well, she _was_ left alone all night and no one let her out until morning."

"Still, that was nasty."

"Why are _you_ guys complaining? _I'm_ the one who had to clean it up!"

The rest of the rebels sat near the fire place while looking up at the nice Christmas tree Golem had gotten them. After cleaning up after breakfast for a change, the rebels had nothing else to do except to wait for the feast that was to come that night. There would be no meal without Holly, though, so the group was beginning to get a little nervous since she still wasn't back with Colt. Having Joy around to keep an eye on helped to pass the time a little, but the mere thought of Holly's cooking was making it hard to stay low key. Mocchi giggled quietly as he stared at his reflection from one of the shiny green ornaments hanging from one of the tree branches while Genki smiled to himself at the sight. He was relieved to see Mocchi in high spirits since the Legend Cup had placed a lot of added stress on the young monster. The sound of creaky hinges caused the rebels to look up from their thoughts as Holly and Colt walked through the front door of the inn with several bags from their morning of shopping.

"I never knew you were into shopping that much, Holly, since you never really buy anything except food." Hare stated with a look of puzzlement while the other rebels nodded in agreement. From what they knew, the wielder of the Magic Stone was the one member of the group who wouldn't blow their money on useless items and trinkets. They learned that fast when they ran into that Niton who tried to con them all those years ago.

"Most of this stuff belongs to Colt. I'll be back down soon to start making dinner." Holly cleared up as her and Colt walked past the rebels and went straight upstairs into Holly's room before shutting the door behind them. The other rebels could only look at one another before shrugging it off and continuing to talk about things that had no relevance to anything.

After a little while, Holly came down as promised before starting to cook up the Christmas feast. With expertise and skill, the brunette peeled and mashed potatoes, threw together a simple salad, made some stuffing from scratch, baked a loaf of bread, boiled a bowl of rice, and finally seasoned and cooked the roast. The whole process took several hours and, although it was now getting dark out, it didn't make Holly feel like she had wasted the day away. Instead, she felt as if she had she had accomplished something huge like taking down one of the Big Bad Four or beating Suezo at a sarcasm contest. The young girl's regular clothing was covered in everything from flour to pepper, but the smell of everything coming together made her not worry about it. Holly smiled to herself as she checked up on the roast before removing it from over the fire and placing it on a large dinner saucer. With a sigh of relief that everything had gone as planned, the young girl quickly set the table before looking back into the living room where the other rebels sat waiting. Each of them wore looks of hunger as the smell tortured their noses and caused their stomachs to rumble annoyingly. Holly couldn't help but giggle at their pleading looks before she clapped her flour covered hands together to get their attention.

"Okay, everyone! Dinner is ready!" Holly announced with an amused smile as she watched her friends leap from their spots and scrambled to get a place at the dinner table. She wouldn't be surprised if there were no leftovers at all by the time the group was done eating. Before Holly could join them, however, a small hand grabbed her own before pulling her into the other room.

"…Colt? What's going on?"

"Miss Holly! What are you doing? You're covered in flour and stuff! You need to clean up and get changed!" Colt exclaimed quietly as she did her best to contain her excitement.

"I guess… but now I'm tired and I just was to relax and eat…"

"It'll take you three extra minutes to get cleaned up and to change your outfit. Come on, Holly! What do ya got to lose?"

Holly sighed quietly as she nodded her head before heading back upstairs while Colt grinned with success. The younger girl couldn't help but love to play match maker, and she only hoped that it would work out this time. Part of her was unsure because of the two rebels' slight age difference and small clash of personalities, but she had seen the signs coming from each of them and she found herself unable to just let it go.

'_I really hope this works… Everything is all set. All we need is for Genki to be receptive…'_ Colt thought to herself with a grin, but the thought made her smile waver and a frown to replace it. _'Oh, gees. I really hope Genki isn't as dense as I remember him being! Maybe this is a mistake… Well, there's no turning back now…'_

* * *

Another chapter done! I just love how Holly believes Genki loves carrots even though he hates them and only ate them to make her happy. I find it to be so adorable. What makes it really cute, though, is that I feel like had that happened in season 1 or season 2 that he wouldn't have eaten it. I think he matured more in season 3 and he was more receptive to other people's feelings around him. Gah, so cute! ^.^ I hope to have the next chapter done as soon as possible! I think they'll be 2 more chapters left (again, I fail since I thought this would be a 3 chapter mini story). I hope you enjoyed this and reviews are loved! Thanks again for reading! Only 4 more days until Christmas… I gotta get moving on this if I plan to have it done by then! XD

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3


	5. Chapter 5: Disappointing Response

Dang, it's getting so cold out! Part of me hopes we _do_ have a white Christmas, though. I like snow for about two days and then I start to hate it. XD Anyways, though, I'm really trying my best to get these chapters done in time for Christmas. I wish I would have had a chance to start this story earlier so I would be cramming like this. Welp, I hope you enjoy this and thank you again for your wonderful reviews! ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Note: This takes place in season 3 between when Mocchi wins the last tournament to be able to enter the Legend Cup and from when he battles Poritoka.

**Holiday Dress**

**Chapter 5: Disappointing Response**

The roast looked absolutely delicious as the group of hungry rebels sat around the table like rabid animals. Although their stomachs screamed at them to take the food while it was hot, the rebels' hearts wouldn't allow them to do that until Holly was also seated with them. So, for now, all they could do was try to make small talk to keep their minds off the feast in front of them. It was proving to be a difficult task, however, and everyone was getting anxious. The talking between them got smaller and smaller until just about no sound was coming from the table except for the occasional grumble from a hungry belly. The food was already on the table and it was driving the group crazy. It was as if the food was taunting the group in a twisted manner.

"Dang… everything looks so good…" Suezo said to no one in particular as he licked his lips with anticipation. The eyeball monster had made sure not to eat too much of the breakfast stew so he'd have extra room for the big feast. Part of him regretted doing that now, though, since his stomach was annoying him to no end. "I hope we don't have to wait much longer or I think I'll go crazy!"

"You can say… that again… Holly really went… all out for us." Golem replied with a soft smile.

Tiger continued to eye the scrumptious looking roast with hunger, but his heart wasn't entirely there. Part of him couldn't help but wonder what his younger brother was doing for the holiday and he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. Here he was preparing to eat a feast fit for a king while his own brother could be starving in the middle of nowhere. The thought caused a pit to form in his stomach and his mood to decrease immensely. Hare couldn't help but glance over at the downhearted wolf monster sitting next to him with a look of concern before he cleared his throat quietly and nudged Tiger lightly with his elbow.

"Huh? What do _you_ want, rabbit?"

"Come on, Tiger. I know something's up with you, so spill it! What's got you so down?"

"And just why would I tell _you_, of all people?"

"I promise I won't make fun of you or anything! It's Christmas, so I call a truce between us for today." Hare stated with a wryly smile while Tiger nodded his head in agreement. If they argued on the holiday, they knew it would cause Holly a great amount of grief which was the last thing either of them wanted.

"Alright. I can't stop wondering where Gray Wolf is. What if he's by himself for the holiday?" Tiger said with a downcast look and a low sigh. "Here I am enjoying the day with you guys and he could be miserable somewhere."

"Don't think like that, Tiger. I bet he's having a great day with that girl who unlocked him and her Hopper. They got along great, so I'm sure he hasn't left her company." Hare replied with a reassuring nod. "That Nina really took a liking to Gray Wolf and he really liked her, too. I bet they're at an inn right now enjoying a big meal, just like us."

"…you really think so?"

"Of course!"

"…hey, Hare?"

"Hm? Yeah, Tiger?"

"…thanks for that."

Hare could only smile and nod in understanding while the other rebels watched with knowing looks. They had known something was bothering Tiger, but seeing his mood lighten was relieving to everyone and seeing the two rebels not fighting was an added bonus. Although they knew things would be back to normal the next day, it didn't take away from the small bonding moment of understanding. The sudden clapping of hands caused each of the rebels to glance over to the door way with confusion where Colt was now standing with a look of pure excitement like a child who just got a hundred presents to open.

"What's going on with you?" Suezo asked with a scowl as he watched the girl giggle happily.

"May I introduce to you… Miss Holly!" Colt squealed giddily while she extended her arm out as an introduction. When nothing happened, though, the younger girl scowled before going back into the other room to retrieve the wielder of the Magic Stone who hadn't come out as planned. The other rebels sweated slightly as they could hear the two girls' banters and pleas from the other room, though none of them dared to check it out.

"Come on, Miss Holly! That was your queue!"

"I don't want to do this anymore, Colt! I'm going back upstairs!"

"Oh, no you don't! We've come this far already!"

"Ack! H-hey! Don't pull so hard or you'll rip my arm out of the socket!"

"Then cooperate and you'll still have use of your arm! Now… GO!"

With one last yell, the other rebels' eyes widened in shock as a very different looking Holly stumbled out into the kitchen with an extremely embarrassed look on her face. The brunette's hair was without its usual ribbon tying it back, so it lay loosely on her shoulders and down her back. The shoes she now wore were an elegant red color that went up like a boot to her ankles. A small amount of white cloth acted as an accented trim and white lace adorned the front of each shoe like a patterned quilt. Nothing compared to the dress the girl now wore, though, and the other rebels could only gawk at the wielder of the Magic Stone as if she was the Phoenix itself. The dress matched the color of the shoes and was sleeveless and not too low cut. The dress flowed elegantly down to Holly's knees and white trim went around the whole bottom of the dress. The back of the dress had a small amount of lace going down the back of it and ended with a bow in the middle of her back. The fabric seemed to shimmer in the light and it made her look like she was something from of fairy tale. Holly felt her face flush red from all the attention, but a sudden nudge from Colt made the girl relax a little just knowing she had someone there to lean on. Before she could speak up, though, the other rebels seemed to snap out of their trances before grinning wryly with slightly reddened faces.

"Holly! You look beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!" Hare exclaimed with a huge smile as he took Holly's hand in his own before kissing it lightly. Holly could only blush furiously at the compliment and the gesture before the rabbit monster was pushed out of the way by Tiger.

"You really do look stunning, Holly." The wolf monster complimented with a blush on his face while Holly smiled and stroked Tiger's head lightly. Any compliment coming from Tiger was a huge honor, and the wielder of the Magic Stone could feel her cheeks redden further.

"Yes… Holly looks… very pretty… More beautiful than… any flower…" Golem said with a bashful smile, causing Holly to step over to the rock giant before hugging his arm lovingly. She hadn't been expecting so many kind compliments, but it didn't mean she couldn't help but enjoy the sudden attention.

"Mocchi thinks Holly is really pretty, chi!" The young monster exclaimed with his arms opened wide as Holly strode to his side before picking him up and cradling him in her arms like an infant. Mocchi giggled in enjoyment as the brunette hugged him close before setting him back down in his seat at the table. A sudden tug at the end of her dress caused Holly to turn around abruptly to see a content looking Suezo standing beside her.

"Holly… You always look wonderful to me, but you look exceptionally gorgeous tonight." The eyeball monster stated with a soft smile before he was pulled into a tight hug by his best friend followed by a light kiss on his head. With a sheepish smile and reddened cheeks, Suezo nodded to the girl before hopping back to his seat with a little more energy than usual.

'_All that's left is Genki… Oh, boy! I hope they make out in front of everyone! That would be so awesome!'_ Colt thought to herself with a sly grin as she took her seat at the table while Joy sat on her shoulder in hopes of getting a few bites of the meal. All at once, the rest of the rebels found themselves glancing at the one member of the group who had yet to speak up. Genki sat at the end of the table with a look that no one could read, but from the look of it he had no intention of speaking. The table fell into silence for several minutes until Holly cleared her throat and smiled genuinely at her group of friends.

"You guys… thank you for everything. Your kind words mean the world to me and I hope you enjoy this meal. It's our first Christmas together and I have a feeling it won't be the last. So, everyone, eat up!"

All at once the rebels began to take the food they desired while Holly poured each person a drink. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization before a smile graced her lips as she took out a pot holder and opened the hot oven. With one swift motion, the wielder of the Magic Stone took out a ceramic dish from the oven before placing it on a pot holder in front of Genki. In the dish was a large helping of cooked carrots, and Genki could already feel his stomach take a U-turn. The orange roots seemed to taunt him as their smell pierced his nostrils and made him want to gag.

"I saw that you couldn't find these in the market place, so I bought some for you! Merry Christmas, Genki!" Holly said with a loving smile to the boy while Genki laughed hesitantly at the gesture. Part of him _really _regretted lying to her the last time about his hate for carrots and he would make sure to load his plate up with other things so he wouldn't have enough room for the carrots. Colt watched the duo with a frown on her face while she used her fork to play with the potatoes on her plate.

'_Why isn't he saying anything to her? Say something already! Holly must be dying on the inside right now and she's putting on a strong front so she won't worry anyone. Dang it, Genki! I gave you too much credit!'_ The pilot thought to herself with a scowl as she took a large bite of the freshly cooked bread.

The dinner continued on with many conversations and jokes being told to one another, but everyone couldn't help but feel a little awkward with the whole situation. Most of the rebels already had a few guesses about how the two humans of the group felt toward each other, and seeing Genki not compliment Holly on her new attire made the group feel horrible for her. They wouldn't bring it up now, though, with the wielder of the Magic Stone still in the room. Tiger couldn't help but continue to glance from both young humans in hopes of seeing a change, but nothing seemed to be happening and it was making the wolf monster have anxiety. Hare frowned as he took another scoop of the carrots while secretly watching how things played out. He could see the hurt that shone in Holly's eyes and it was starting to get to him.

'_Say something to her, Genki… Just a little comment will make her day! Why are some humans so thick headed?'_ The rabbit monster thought to himself with a low snort as he took another bite of his meal. _'I just don't get it. He's had a billion chances to say something to her and he hasn't. This doesn't make any sense…'_

The dinner began to come to an end as most of the food was devoured by the hungry rebels and Colt, though Genki had made sure to skip out on the carrots throughout the whole dinner. Even Joy had enough to eat as she sat groggily on Colt's shoulder with a dazed look from eating too much. The room fell silent, though, when Holly stood up from the table and gave the rebels a smile laced with sadness. Each of them could only look at one another with confusion and concern as she picked up her old black cloak from the coat rack before heading over to the door with hurry.

"I… I'm just going to get some fresh air. I'll be back to clean up the mess soon." Holly called from behind her before the door closed with a soft creak; leaving the rest of the group to turn to Genki with scowls on their faces.

"Huh? Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Genki asked with a look of puzzlement.

"Why the heck to_ you_ think? What's wrong with you?" Colt demanded as she slammed her hand down onto the hard table, causing a loud bang to echo throughout the room like a crash of thunder. "You're the densest person I've ever met!"

"Hey! Am not!" The young boy frowned at the insult.

"Why didn't you compliment Holly on her dress? She dressed up like that for _you_, Genki! She didn't do it because she felt like being fancy or because she was in the mood to wear a new outfit! She dressed up like that so maybe you would notice her for once! You're such an idiot!" Colt shouted in frustration as she clenched her hands into balled fists as if she would punch someone at any time.

"She dressed up… for me…?"

"Yes! She went through all that crap for you, and you're the only person here _not_ to compliment her!" The pilot yelled angrily, but she immediately calmed down when a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder by Hare. The rabbit monster shook his head once at her before turning to Genki and sighing slightly.

"Genki… It wouldn't have been awkward for you to say something to her since all of us did, too. Why didn't you say anything?" Hare asked in a calming manner to help relax everyone a little. Getting too aggravated at the situation wouldn't help at all and Colt was almost over the border line of aggravated.

"I… I just couldn't come up with the words to say…" Genki trailed off with a miserable frown on his face as he let out a low sigh and ran his fingers through his messy hair. "I'm not good with stuff like this, okay? I just didn't know what to say…"

The other rebels couldn't help but look at the young boy with sympathy as they watched him curse at himself for not saying anything. Suezo kept a special eye on the boy that had hurt his best friend's feelings, but even he felt a lump in his throat rise. He knew Genki would never purposely hurt Holly and that he always had good intentions. Clearing his throat loudly, everyone turned to look at Suezo, who was now looking out the window with a stern look on his face.

"It's starting to snow again and I don't want Holly wondering the streets alone in this kind of weather. Go find her for me, would you, Genki?" The eyeball asked with a glance to the young boy. Genki immediately got to his feel before nodding his head and grabbing his cloak as well. With one last look at Suezo, Genki spoke a low 'thank you' to the eyeball monster before heading out into the cold air and closing the door behind him.

"This snow is nothing. You know Holly could easily find her way back here with no problems. You're a pretty generous monster, Suezo. I have to give you credit for that." Tiger stated with a sly smile at knowing Suezo's indirect way of helping Genki out in his current predicament.

"Bah, you're reading into things. Just start helping me clean up." Suezo replied with a shrug as he began to clear the table, but not before glancing one last time out the window and letting out a low sigh. _'Don't mess this one up either, Genki.'_

* * *

I just love Genki and how dense he is sometimes. Like in the episode "After the Rain" where everyone except him and Mocchi knew to change the subject of Holly's past, but they didn't. He's so cute. XD I'm sorry, but I'm not very good at describing clothing, but especially dresses. I never dress up so I can't really describe it from personal experience. I think there's **one** more chapter to go! Hopefully I don't need more than that to finish this thing up. Again, thanks for your wonderful reviews and for reading this! Only 3 more days until Christmas… Will I finish this in time…?

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3


	6. Chapter 6: Making Amends

Gah, I'm so tired. I'm not use to staying up late anymore. _ Anyways! I've finally completed the last chapter of this mini story which turned into a longer story than first expected. That's beside the point, though! Christmas Eve is tomorrow so make sure to get a good night of sleep tonight so you'll be ready for tomorrow! Thank you everyone for reading this and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Note: This takes place in season 3 between when Mocchi wins the last tournament to be able to enter the Legend Cup and from when he battles Poritoka.

**Holiday Dress**

**Chapter 6: Making Amends**

Genki tore through the white streets with as much speed as he could muster while he looked ahead with determination. The young boy could feel the guilt that had built up inside his mind and he knew he had to find the wielder of the Magic Stone as soon as possible so he could clear things up. The snow was coming down softly, but it was still slightly irritating and was still cold to the touch. With the snow on the ground, his search would be slower since he couldn't use his trusty rollerblades like he usually depended on.

'_What do I say to her, though?'_ Genki thought to himself with a frown on his face while he checked down every alleyway and store. _'If I say something wrong then maybe she won't come back… I don't know what I'd do if that happened.'_

"Excuse me, sir. Are you looking for something in particular? I can help you out if you want." One of the stationed vendors offered to Genki, who looked as if he was in deep thought. "You look a little troubled, boy. Is something the matter?"

"Actually, have you seen a girl pass by here? She had brown hair and was wearing a black cloak over a red dress." Genki asked with a tone of hope. "Anything you can tell me would be great."

"I do remember someone of that description. She was looking a little under the weather and she was headed that way." The vendor stated with a point of his finger down the road. "She was walking pretty slowly, so if you leave now you'll catch up to her in no time."

"Thank you for your help!" Genki called out as he bolted down the street and disappeared into the distance with only finding the wielder of the Magic Stone in his mind. No amount of snow or strong wind would break his will.

* * *

The snow that littered the cold ground crunched quietly as red colored boots stepped on top of them and flattened the chilly substance into slush, leaving behind elegant looking footprints in its path. Holly walked in silence down the snowy streets as she clutched her black cloak close to her body to keep from freezing and to protect her from the chilly air. The falling snow clung gently to her brown hair as it hung loosely on her back and whipped around with the occasional gust of wind, though the young girl ignored it. Her thoughts were clouded by disappointment and confusion as she walked aimlessly wherever her legs would take her.

'_How could I have been so stupid? I shouldn't have gotten upset and worked up like I did over something so small and petty. Genki didn't do anything wrong and I probably caused everyone to worry. I don't know why I was being so over emotional... Maybe it's because I thought he'd like it and he didn't seem very pleased.'_ Holly thought to herself with a slightly bitter frown as she let out a soft sigh. The wielder of the Magic Stone took one last glance at the cloudy sky above her before beginning to continue walking, but a loud shout caused the girl to stop dead in her tracks.

"HOLLY! WAIT!"

Holly blinked in surprise before turning around to see a frantic Genki running toward her with a look of worry and concern. The young girl couldn't help but worry about what was going on, but she didn't have a chance to ask as Genki ran to her side before letting out a relieved sigh. The boy gently placed his hands onto each of Holly's shoulders before taking in a deep breath of air and looking at her with determined eyes. Both of their hearts were pounding in synch with one another while Genki cleared his throat and gave her a nervous glance.

"Holly… I'm sorry about tonight. I really am!"

"Hm? Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong, Genki. I was just being over sensitive and-"

"No you weren't! You have every right to feel the way you do!"

Holly couldn't help but look at Genki with slight confusion at how determined he seemed. She wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to get at, but she wouldn't interrupt him further. Genki took her silence as a signal to continue his train of thoughts, though even he wasn't entirely sure what to say. He was never good at complimenting anyone in general, let alone a person of the opposite gender and one that he had a secret crush on. With a sudden burst of confidence, the young boy swallowed his pride as he squeezed Holly's shoulders a little tighter.

"Holly, I'm sorry I didn't speak up earlier. I really wanted to, honest! I just… I didn't know what to say! I think you look beautiful in that dress! I mean, you _always_ look really nice, but you look exceptionally pretty tonight. Not that you don't normally! I always think you look gorgeous! I mean, uh…" Genki trailed off with embarrassment as he found himself still tongue tied and unable to come up with the words he had hoped for. Holly, however, blinked in shock before a bashful smile spread across her lips.

"Genki… where is this coming from?"

"I… I know I upset you for not complimenting you earlier, but I really do mean what I said!"

Genki wasn't sure to say after that, but his eyes widened as he watched a blush form on Holly's cheeks and a gentle giggle emit from her lips. Not sure whether to take it as a good or a bad thing, the young boy could only look at the girl with puzzlement with anticipation. Maybe he had said something wrong. A small amount of fear rose into his mind at the thought of maybe he had insulted her, but he couldn't find any more words to speak at that moment.

'_Colt's right! I'm such an idiot!'_ Genki mentally cursed to himself, but Holly's soft hand taking his own caused the boy to look directly at her with mixed emotions.

"Oh, Genki… I wasn't upset about you not saying anything about my dress." Holly said with a warm smile that could melt even the harshest of snow and ice.

"W-what? R-really? Then why were you upset?" The boy asked with absolute confusion.

"Actually, I was a little down because I saw you didn't eat any of the carrots I specially made for you. After I left, though, I realized how much Hare loves carrots, too, and I realized that you probably didn't take any so he could enjoy them since it was a holiday." Holly admitted with a sheepish smile while Genki could only blink several times before face faulting in shock.

"_That's_ the reason you were upset? It had nothing to do with the dress?"

"Yes. It's funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it?"

'_I'm gonna make the others pay for making me believe the wrong thing and making me look like a complete loser!'_ Genki thought to himself as he could only nod numbly while he felt himself blush from embarrassment and scowl slightly. He had said all those things to Holly even though he really didn't need to. All he could think about now was what was going on in her mind now that she knew how he thought she looked. All he wanted to do was hide under a rock so he would never have to face another living being again from the embarrassment he felt, but a sudden squeeze of his hand snapped him out of his thoughts. Holly looked at the boy with a look of sheer happiness and joy as she stood a little closer to him than usual.

"Genki… Do you want to take a walk around the town?" Holly asked with a look of sincerity and hope.

"…that sounds like a great idea."

* * *

Tiger yawned as he tiredly sat next to Golem and smiled softly. After all Holly had done for them, the other rebels were more than compliant to clean up the mess from the feast. Still, though, each of them couldn't help but be a little concerned about the whole situation. The two humans had been gone for over an hour and there was still no sign of wither of them. Suezo sighed as he looked out the window with worry before Hare placed a hot cup of tea next to the eyeball monster.

"Don't fret, Suezo. I have a feeling things are just fine between those two. Just relax and enjoy relaxing for once." The rabbit monster stated with a content look as he took a seat next to a sleepy Mocchi.

"I guess you're right. I just can't help but worry, ya know?" Suezo replied with a sad smile before he took a small sip of the tea to calm his nerves a little bit.

"Hare's right. Genki is more than capable of fighting off Baddies by himself, so Holly is in good hands." Tiger said with a shrug as he turned over to heat the rest of his body in front of the fireplace. "Besides, this is the town just about all the Legend Cup competitors come to spend their time. If Holly and Genki were in danger I'm sure someone would defend them."

"The snow is… barely coming down… so they won't… get lost." Golem pointed out optimistically.

Everyone couldn't help but agree with one another before conversing about anything that came to mind, but they suddenly fell silent as their attention fell on Colt. The young girl was sitting near the window with a forlorn look on her face and sadness reflecting off her eyes. Each of the monsters knew how much she had been looking forward to helping Holly out, but things hadn't worked out and the pilot had been down in the dumps ever since. Even when Joy nudged her lovingly in an attempt to get her master to respond, the girl would merely sigh and continue looking out the window.

"…Colt?" Hare spoke softly so not to startle the girl.

"…this is all my fault. I shouldn't have pried like that, but I just wanted Miss Holly to be happy. I really screwed things up this time." Colt stated with a frown as she let out another low sigh. "I bet she hates me now and never wants to see me again."

"Holly's not like that, Colt. Sure, things didn't work out as planned, but you had good intentions and Holly knows that. Don't stress over it. We've had worse things happen in this group and we always recover from it." Tiger spoke up first while everyone else looked at the wolf monster in shock for his attempt to cheer the girl up.

"_You're_ being supportive? This is new." Hare said with a surprised glance.

"Ah, shut up! I'm doing it for Holly's sake and that's it!" The wolf monster retorted with a blush of embarrassment.

The room fell silent quickly, though, when the creaking of the front door echoed throughout the inn before both Genki and Holly stepped through the door with smiles on their faces. Both where covered in snow, but it didn't take away from their new found good moods. Before either of them could speak up, though, Colt launched herself at Holly before squeezing her tight while the wilder of the Magic Stone could only sweat slightly and give her a confused glance.

"Whaaa! Miss Holly! I'm so sorry! I really messed things up for your Christmas!" Colt exclaimed with watery eyes and a guilty frown. "How can I make it up to you?"

"Colt, nothing is wrong at all. In fact, I don't think things could have worked out better." Holly smiled softly as she stroked the younger girl's head like a mother would do to her child before returning her hug. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

Colt could only blink in surprise before she grinned happily and hugged the wielder of the Magic Stone tighter. Once the rebels were able to undo Colt's death grip on Holly, both Genki and Holly immediately went to their rooms to change out of their wet clothing before joining the others around the warm fire. Holly smiled with glee as Genki took a set right next to her while Colt took a seat on her other side. With a glance over at Genki, the wielder of the Magic Stone nudged Colt lightly with her elbow, causing the pilot to look at her with puzzlement.

"What's up, Miss Holly?"

"Colt… I want you to have that red dress from now on."

"Huh? Why?"

"It's done its job for me already. Genki notices me, so now I'll pass it on to you."

The younger girl couldn't stop gawking at Holly as the taller girl handed the nicely folded red dress to her along with the matching red shoes. The fabric shimmered elegantly with every flicker of the fire and the shoes glittered with beauty. Colt could feel the excitement boiling inside of her before she flung her arms around Holly's neck with a loud squeal.

"Oooh! Thank you, Miss Holly! Thank you! You're the best!"

Holly smiled softly as she patted the girl's back lightly before placing her hand on the ground to lean on so she wouldn't fall over from the other girl's force. Her eyes widened suddenly, though, and she craned her neck down to see a hand placed gently over her's. Genki gulped from nervousness as he glanced at the wielder of the Magic Stone, but he felt himself relax when she intertwined her hand with his in one swift motion. Both rebels made brief eye-contact followed by sheepish smiled shared by both of them. With her other hand, Holly patted Colt's back once more before closing her eyes and sighing happily.

"No, Colt. Thank _you_."

The rebels stayed in silence as they watched the Christmas ornaments glitter and shine from the light of the fire while they enjoyed each others' company. It had been a long and brutal journey for them, but they had made it to where they were together. Genki smiled as he glanced over to a sleeping Holly who was resting her head on his shoulder and a napping Colt who was sleeping against the wielder of the Magic Stone. Held snuggly in her arms was the beautiful red dress and, from the looks of it, Colt treasured it with every fiber of her being. It had been quite an eventful day, but he was happy it had happened as it did. Tomorrow things would go back to the way they always were with Tiger and Hare fighting while him and Mocchi would be training for the Legend Cup. Even so, though, not everything would be as it usually was. Genki glanced down at where his hand was still intertwined with Holly's, and it only furthered his smile.

'_No. Not everything will be the same as it used to be. Some things will be better than before. Merry Christmas, everyone, but mainly to you, Holly.' _

The young boy let out a soft yawn before succumbing to fatigue and allowing sleep to take hold of his body. The group of sleeping rebels slept in peace and silence as thoughts of that day swarmed through their minds like fish in a stream. Their journey wasn't over yet, but celebrating their first Christmas together would be a memory that none of them would forget. On one of the small branches of the Christmas tree hung a red ornament that was decorated with glitter and a small message was scrawled onto it for everyone to read.

'_May you enjoy a safe Christmas with those whom you cherish.'_

**End**

* * *

Finally finished! And before Christmas! I did it! I made my goal! Woot woot! Sorry this was rushed, but I didn't want to be writing this on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. I always write corny stories, huh? You can tell I'm a sucker for A.) Genki and Holly fluff B.) Holly and Colt interaction and C.) Genki hating carrots. XD Thank you, everyone, for all of your wonderful reviews! I love you guys! ^_^ I don't think I'll have time to dish out a new chapter of Delusions of the Heart before the new year begins so, if I don't see you before then, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! My New Years resolution will be to get DotH almost done or maybe completely finish it. Who knows, right? Until next time, everyone have a great holiday!

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3


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